Category: Marketing

I spent the day last Friday searching for the perfect wardrobe for my upcoming Living Proof cover photoshoot. Shopping when you have a specific thing in mind is always hard, but shopping with an “I’ll know it when I see it” is even harder. After meeting with my friends Naomi Finlay (photographer) and Martha Snyder (retoucher) for lunch to go over the cover photoshoot concept, my head was swimming with ideas, and off I went in search of the perfect outfit. I am lucky enough to know Heidi Sopinka, designer extraordinaire and co-owner of Horses Atelier. She was kind enough to lend me something, but its always good to have a few options on shoot day.

A vintage dress I found that is a definite contender, although I was hoping to wear dark blue or green instead of black.

Vintage gold and navy. Cute but not perfect!

I want the Living Proof cover to embody strength and perseverance, but also hardship, and how life erodes us over time (I know, super light right?)

I also really didn’t want a straight up head-shot, but possibly layering photos for an interesting effect like Hannah Georgas’ latest record For Evelyn or adding illustration like this photo I found on the web.

One idea I had was to have one half of my face look like it is eroding. This would require finding an illustrator, so I am now on the hunt for someone who can make this dream come true without an insane price tag.

Gorgeous jumpsuit from Horses Atelier.

After a few hours combing stores on Queen West, I gave up and went home empty handed. So much effort for something I don’t even know will be visible in the cover photo, but it has to be right, just in case. I have four more days and only a few hours without my kids, so wish me luck!

Yesterday my family helped me to record a video for the CBC Searchlight competition. I am submitting one of the songs from Living Proof in an effort to get some exposure for the upcoming album and also to possibly win some much needed prize money to put into the album! My five year old helped by singing “Let It Go” at the top of her lungs in front of the camera, my two year old helped by spilling her potty (which was full of pee) during one of my takes, and my husband helped by, well, doing pretty much everything, including very complex lighting with a kids nightlight as pictured below.

My husband helping me set up professional lighting

This kind of thing is WAY outside of my comfort zone. I don’t wear a lot of makeup, I am uncomfortable on camera, and I have actually never shot a music video before, professional or amateur. It ended up being a pretty fun family activity and we were not only able to finish, but I sent in the video later last night (working mom win!!!).

Me with more makeup on than I have ever worn in my life!

The highlight of the shoot for me was having my whole family involved, as music is something I usually go off quietly and do by myself. The best take is the one where you can hear Charlie yelling about wiping her bum in the background. Classic. I can’t share the final video for CBC Searchlight quite yet but it will be up on the CBC Website on Feb 14th at 3pm. The first round is based on votes, so I need friends and fans to vote once per day from Feb 15th-Feb 27th.

I made a two minute video of ‘bloopers’ from the days shoot, so I hope it will give you a little chuckle. Included in the YouTube description are a few sentences about why I should win the CBC Searchlight competition 🙂